


Springtime

by starshine_shimmyshufflesmile



Category: Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: How Do I Tag, M/M, is this songfic? maybe, it's definitely proudly derivative and amateur, set during PLATROA, warning: not just syrup: corn syrup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-15 06:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19290154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starshine_shimmyshufflesmile/pseuds/starshine_shimmyshufflesmile
Summary: In PLATROA Lestat told us Daniel dropped Marius, right at court in front of everyone, to be with Armand after Louis left Trinity Gate.But there's so much we are never told.





	Springtime

Springtime

March 2014

 

Daniel

The retreating tide had left a stretch of damp packed sand near a solitary boulder. A good place to lean while he pulled up an app. He figured he must look like any ordinary guy constantly fidgeting with his phone in this second decade of the twenty-first century. He snuck a glance at Armand, standing nearby gazing out at the stars. Beautiful. Poised. Pale, but dressed in clothes typical for a student at any college, nothing was immediately visible to hint this youth standing at the edge of the dark sea was well into his sixth century.

There was no one to see, anyway. The beach was deserted, and prying eyes on the cliffs or water were unlikely to notice two distant figures who carried no lights. Long ago, they had shared a home on a beach for years. But they were far away from all that now. Finished, he walked into Armand's space and ducked his head down, letting his breath blow small puffs in long auburn curls as he began to quietly sing an older rock song over the sound of the waves.

"I saw him dancin' there by the record machine..." He knew that there was a smirk audible in his tone. He also knew that Armand shared his deep love for what he had used to dramatically call 'the popular music of this modern age', and most importantly, he knew that Armand enjoyed the timbre and accent of his open, broadcast radio voice and found his teasing seductive.

Armand's eyes glittered in the starlight and the corner of his mouth twitched up as he turned his head a bit to watch him swing his hips in a subtle grind as he continued, "I knew he musta been about seventeen..."

  
Armand

Whom but Daniel would think to seduce him by singing Joan Jett? It was ludicrous. It delighted him, he couldn't deny it. A fully formed scene of a Berlin club bloomed in his mind. It was the first time they had heard the song that Daniel had loved instantly. Daniel had charmed the DJ into playing it twice more before dawn.

"The beat was going strong..."

Flashes of Daniel's startlingly beautiful violet eyes between drifts of smoke from his cigarette as he teased that they should adopt it as an anthem; Daniel flirting with him, his sweet smile everpresent, thinking far to loudly that a more enticing seventeen year old than Armand could not be found. February 1982, before the fear and the whiskey had pinched lines around Daniel's eyes and mouth, and they had traveled to what was at the time West Germany together. In those years, before he had allowed Daniel's bitterness to grow so heavy that he had begun to run again to escape its weight, they had always traveled together.

"Playing my favorite song..."

A perfect night. Hour after hour of sensual games played on the dance floor. Daniel flying on E and drops of Armand's blood shared in lingering kisses. Daniel long and lithe, blond and free, hips swinging as glints of the coloured lights flashed like refracted prisms in his hair. And he was swept away with him, intoxicated secondhand on Daniel's blood and the drug imbibed with it, the scent of him and the other mortal boys dancing all around them succulent and erotic.

He tilted his head. "I remember, Daniel."

  
Daniel

"Then dance with me, Armand." He tapped the phone before setting it down and let a smile wash slow over his face as the opening riffs poured from the tiny speaker.

Armand gave him an amused look and grabbed his hips, pulling them close to his own and matching his rhythmic, sinuous movements. He let his smile shift into a satisfied grin, adding a shimmy on the guitar lick, raising his arms and running his hands through his own short mop of hair, burlesque style, to tease him a bit more.

He knew Armand was curious why he had asked him to meet in this place. They could have easily visited any of a hundred beach resorts on the south coast of France to do the kind of dancing no one did at the castle. It would get a dark laugh, wouldn't it, if he knew that one reason he had chosen Bonifacio was because the isolated, rugged stone landscape was nothing like Night Island. Not that he was going to say that. Definitely wasn't the mood he was going for.

  
Armand

As they danced to the electric guitars, he was flooded with sensations of weightlessness. Yes, he remembered this part too. He had often felt this way when it had been good with Daniel. The song came to a close, and was replaced by a Depeche Mode track from the same year. He found himself laughing aloud at the end as he returned the favor after Daniel spun him, and he realized that both of them had been grinning like fools through both songs.

The track that started up next surprised him. It was older. A slow song from the time when Daniel had been a small child. Daniel pulled him in, holding him close and effortlessly leading him in the steps of a foxtrot.

He wondered idly if Daniel still had his photo albums. Relics of a twentieth century boyhood. Didn't matter. Time would devour all their souvenirs eventually. The romantic aptness of this song had made it a favorite.

A favorite the two of them had only ever danced to in private.

  
Daniel

Armand still looked pleased, but he was studying him closely now. Was he wondering at the thoughts behind the Silence? Or just observing the differences between the vampire he danced with now and the mortal man he had danced with then? The Dark Blood had smoothed to flawless porcelain the lines that had once been present on his face. A stranger would think him five years younger than the thirty-two mortal years he'd had. No trace remained of how hard the last of those years had been lived. Of course, the truth was he'd now seen as many decades as Armand had centuries. He'd had time to process the lessons of that life, and to come to grips with the basics of this new one.

As the song went on, he resumed singing softly in Armand's ear. "Deepening shadows gather splendor as day is done, Fingers of night will soon surrender the setting sun, I count the moments darling till you're here with me..."

  
Armand

He laid his cheek against his chest, feeling his heartbeat and the vibration of his voice as Daniel continued to sing along quietly with the lead. He couldn't resist stroking where his hand rested at the nape of Daniel's neck. Being a head shorter than him allowed them to fit together like puzzle pieces. They had always fit so well.

Even when it had been bad, and they didn't want to.

"Daniel." Eventually he asked softly, without lifting his head, "Is it just nostalgia?"

He felt Daniel tighten his hold on him before answering. “Is anything about us either or? Isn't it always 'both' with the two of us?”

His lips twitched, but he spoke very solemnly. “I stand corrected. What else, Daniel?”

A deep breath before saying, “I asked you to come because I wanted a space where we could be close and comfortable to talk together, away from everyone and all of the shit that's been raining down. We’re both at points of change in our lives."

He was careful to remain pliant against Daniel's shoulder, to keep his tone gentle as he said, "I hadn't realized you were at a 'point of change’."

"I know he's hard for you to deal with right now. Everyone's talking about the blowout you two had."

"Is that what this is about?"

"No. You know I think you and Marius are not anyone's business but yours and his."

Armand sighed, his spine relaxing a bit.

  
Daniel

He had let go of Armand's hand when the music stopped. When a pop ballad began, Armand led him into a simple box step. He was looking up at him now, those big brown eyes calm. One out of the way. Two more bases to hit.

"Just listen, okay? I am at a point of change. The life I shared with him ended when he agreed to Lestat's plan for the Court. I didn't realize it then, but it's obvious now. He held me together, and then I held him together. But the Court is a vocation for him, and it's… it's nothing to me. Life in the castle is not a life I want, and it's not like there's some other life I want with him. I'm going to leave. He'll be alright. He finally has a sense of purpose again."

"Does he know he'll be alright?"

"Probably not. Doesn't make it less true though. He won't be thrilled, but he won't really be surprised. He knows he needs the Court, and he'll realize he has no real need of me quickly enough."

"Alright. Where are you going to go, Daniel? What are you going to do?"

He bit his lip and swallowed. Last one. "I'm going to soften you up with good memories and tell you that I'm tired of watching you from across the room. Tired of wondering if you might be ready to try again with me… because I'm ready, Armand."

Armand replied slowly, blank expression clearly indicating how quickly his thoughts were clicking along behind it. "You realize that I too have duties with the Court? We may yet be facing a war and untold destruction. But if our world doesn't end, I will continue to maintain both Trinity Gate and Saint-Germain open as coven houses."

"Of course. Who else would Lestat and Louis, or Marius trust? But Trinity Gate and Saint-Germain aren't the castle, they're in the real world. I don't want to run away. I want to build the new version of life with you. There will be a new version of life, you know. We've survived the end of our world before, after all."

Armand stopped the dance, going up on tiptoe to kiss him. The thrill of Blood in the kiss shuddered through him and Armand's hand traveled up his torso, caressing along his jugular and up into his hair before he pressed tight against him. His petal soft lips spoke against his.

"My Daniel. My one and only fledgling. My beloved." The words were melismatic and resonant, almost ritualistic, spoken like an incantation. Hell, they were an incantation: it enchanted him every time Armand spoke them.

  
Armand

His heart was beating faster. This was going to cause more difficulty with his maker. Marius had been emphatic about his love for Daniel when he'd told Lestat their experiences in Rio for the last book. He didn't care. He had forever to try to find peace with Marius. He and Daniel were different; mates. He liked being the man he'd learned to be by loving Daniel. And now the shocks had worn off. He'd finally grieved his losses, integrated the changes. He could create a stable life with Daniel now. Maybe they really could live forever together.

He drew back a bit and said, “You're certain? I made many mistakes with you. I hurt you badly."

"We hurt each other. I made just as many mistakes. We've both learned to do better. I want our happy ending, boss. I always did, I just kinda sucked at making it work. We both kinda sucked at making it work."

He snorted at the graceless statement. "A fair assessment. We will do better this time." He repressed his smile at the way his words had made Daniel's eyes shine and put on an arch tone. “We’re going to have to work on your taste in music.”

“What's wrong with my taste in music?” Daniel cut off his attempt to move them back into the dance by picking him up bridal style and whirling around in a circle, clearly delighting in their now matched strength.

“Arthur's theme?!”

“It had a happy ending!” Daniel defended. “And, it had Liza! And Liza sang the theme from 'New York, New York'! Don't you remember?”

His eyebrows went up as another scene blossomed in his mind. “New Year's Eve, 1978. And the symbolic meaning of 'I Just Can't Get Enough'?”

Daniel laughed. “Nah. That one's literal. Com'ere.”

And they kissed again.

 

The End

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Written while waiting for Blood Communion to come out, to provide a closure cushion for myself in case that book was unreadable. (Why yes, I am a survivor of reading Blood Canticle cover to cover back in '03! and I'll probably die still clutching that grudge) I got as far as joining the archive before I chickened out and didn't post it, but I've recently located some balls.
> 
> Inspired by the TDM line _"The dance will not end like that."_ and my embarrassing kink for period accurate soundtracks. Bizarre coincidence that Mater made a thing out of Lestat not remembering how to dance, but certainly speaks to the nature of the deficiencies that made the book a bit unsatisfying.
> 
> I want to note with gratitude the heavy influence of the amazing monstersinthecosmos fic "In the Trials of the Heart", which made wonderful use of descriptions of gorgeous visual art by sheepskeleton. The thing I love about fandom is that it's about dancing for the joy of dancing, and celebrating the fact that the floor underfoot is the shoulders of many giants.
> 
> First lyrics credit goes to Alan Merrill of the Arrows, although it's not their version Daniel plays. Second lyrics credit goes to Buck Ram, who wrote the unpublished poem years before it was put to the music by The Three Suns, but the recording on the playlist is by The Platters. Huh, that turned out sort of meta, didn't it? *shrug* Reality itself is a collaborative construct, and I already tagged it "proudly derivative".


End file.
